Episode 7 University Challenge

APPLAUSE

University Challenge.

Asking the questions, Jeremy Paxman.

Hello. Again tonight we're bringing out the metaphorical thumbscrews

in an attempt to extract information from the student mind.

Whichever team squeals the most knowingly

will play again in the second round.

Now, from humble beginnings on the site of a disused mental asylum,

the University of Liverpool was established as a university college

in 1881, with its first students being accepted the following year.

Its Victoria building, designed by Alfred Waterhouse,

gave rise to the term "red-brick university"

being applied to Liverpool and to several other urban universities

founded around the same time.

Alumni include the essayist Lytton Strachey,

the literary critic Frank Kermode,

and the architect Sir James Stirling.

More recent graduates include the actress Anna Maxwell Martin

and the Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw.

Representing around 21,000 students, with an average age of 21,

let's meet the Liverpool team.

Hi. I'm Ben Mawdsley, I'm from Southport,

and I'm studying astrophysics.

Hi. My names Jim Davis, I'm from Gullane near Edinburgh,

-and I'm studying tropical disease biology.

-And their captain.

Hi. I'm Dachman Crew, I'm originally from Liverpool,

and I'm studying for a BSc in biochemistry.

Hi. I'm Hugh Hiscock, I'm from Southampton,

and I'm studying for an MA in French.

APPLAUSE

From the other side of the Pennines,

the team from the University of Sheffield represent an institution

which emerged out of the amalgamation in the 19th century

of a medical school, a technical school and the Firth College.

In 1897 they formed the University College of Sheffield,

which in 1905 became a university in its own right.

Alumni include the author Hilary Mantel,

the comedian Eddie Izzard,

and the politician David Blunkett.

Tonight's team all study in the same department,

which might be something of a disadvantage,

or indeed quite the opposite, but it does mean they know each other.

Or they knew each other before the team was even selected.

Mr Cunliffe was best man at Mr Aspray's wedding.

With an average age of 21, representing around 27,000 students,

let's meet the Sheffield team.

Hi. My name's Andrew Trueman,

I'm originally from Hartlepool in County Durham,

and I'm studying medicine.

Hi, my name's Nathaniel Aspray, I'm from Basingstoke in Hampshire

-and I'm also studying medicine.

-And this is their captain.

Hi, I'm Jonathan Cunliffe, I'm from Solihull,

and I'm also studying medicine.

Hello, I'm Claire Greenwood, I'm from Bedford

and I'm also studying medicine.

APPLAUSE

You must all know the rules, so let's get on with it.

Fingers on buzzers, here's your first starter for ten.

Which daily financial and business newspaper

was first published on July 8, 1889,

having been founded by the American journalist Charles H Dow

of Dow Jones & Co?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

The Wall Street Journal.

Correct.

APPLAUSE

So the first set of bonuses, Liverpool, are on museum ships.

Now preserved as a museum ship at a seaport south of Tokyo,

having been built at Barrow-in-Furness,

the Mikasa was Admiral Togo's flagship during which conflict?

THEY CONFER

I have no idea.

World War II?

No, it was the Russo-Japanese war.

Secondly, a survivor of the Russo-Japanese war

noted for its role in the October Revolution,

the cruiser Aurora is a museum ship in which major city?

St Petersburg?

Correct. The site of the Japanese surrender in 1945,

USS Missouri is a museum ship

at which historically significant naval base?

Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor?

Correct! Ten points for this starter question.

In physics, what property of a wave

is given by wavelength divided by propagation speed?

The same term also has a precise use in geochronology,

specifying an interval intermediate in scale

between an era and an epoch.

Liverpool, Mawdsley.

Frequency?

Anyone like to buzz from Sheffield?

Sheffield, Trueman.

Amplitude?

No, it's a period. Ten points for this.

Which given name links a woman

who was beheaded on Rome's Ponte Sant'Angelo in 1599

for the murder of her abusive father Francesco Cenci,

the fifth daughter of Queen Victoria,

the muse of the medieval poet Dante, and the cousin of Hero

in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing?

Sheffield, Aspray.

Beatrice.

Correct!

APPLAUSE

Right, you're off the mark,

and your bonuses are on historical figures born in Somerset.

In each case, name the person from the description.

Firstly, born Somerset 1773,

a scientist noted for his wave theory of light

and his contributions to the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone.

He gives his name to a modulus on elasticity

first defined in 1807.

Young?

Thomas Young is right, yes. Born in Somerset in 1838,

an actor noted for his Shakespearean roles

and for his theatrical partnership with Ellen Terry.

In 1895 he became the first actor to gain a knighthood.

Christopher Hooper.

Christopher Hooper?

Interesting.

No, it was Sir Henry Irving.

Born in Somerset in 1881,

a founder of the Transport and General Workers Union,

later a member of Churchill's War Cabinet,

he became Foreign Secretary in 1945.

Clement Attlee?

No, it was Ernest Bevin. Ten points for this.

Life's Little Ironies and A Group Of Noble Dames

are collections of short stories by which literary figure,

whose first published novel, Desperate Remedies,

appeared in 1871?

His second, Under The Greenwood Tree,

appeared the following year.

Sheffield, Greenwood.

James Joyce.

No. Anyone like to have a go from Liverpool?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

Thomas Hardy.

Correct.

APPLAUSE

Liverpool, these bonuses are on church architecture.

In a work of 1817, what enduring two-word term

did Thomas Rickman coin to indicate the architectural period

between Norman and Decorated?

It began in the late 12th century.

High Gothic?

No, it's Early English.

Secondly, built between 1220 and 1258,

which cathedral in Southern England is almost entirely

in the Early English style?

It's also noted for its unusually tall spire,

completed around 50 years later.

Salisbury.

Correct. Derived from the name of a weapon,

what six-letter term denotes the narrow, acutely pointed windows

characteristic of the Early English style?

-I don't know.

-Is it dagger, maybe?

Might be a good guess.

Dagger?

No, they're lancet windows.

Right, we're going to take a picture round now.

for your picture starter you'll see a diagram showing the final rounds

of the Wimbledon Men's Singles competition in a particular year.

Ten points if you can tell me the year.

-Anyone like to buzz?

-Sheffield, Cunliffe.

2009?

Anyone like to buzz from Liverpool?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

2008?

Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses are three more Wimbledon singles competitions.

In each case, I want you to tell me

the year in which the tournament played out as shown.

This time you can have a year either way.

Firstly, for five.

Er, '77.

No, that was 1980. Secondly...

Billie Jean King...

'66.

No, it was 1970. And finally...

2001.

Correct!

Right, ten points for this. Fingers on the buzzers.

Listen carefully, answer as soon as your name is called.

What is the total number of carbon atoms

in a molecule of benzene, a molecule of methane,

and a molecule of ethanol?

Liverpool, Davis.

Eight?

Sheffield?

Sheffield, Trueman.

-Nine?

-Nine is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on notable Test innings at Headingley.

Which Australian scored triple centuries against England

in the Headingley Tests in 1930 and '34?

I know nothing about cricket.

-You a big cricketer?

-No.

I think we'll have to pass.

That was Don Bradman.

Secondly, in a remarkable comeback in 1981,

which all-rounder scored 149 not out in the second innings

as England beat Australia after following on?

Ian Botham?

Correct! And finally, in the Headingley Test of 1991,

which England captain scored 154 not out

as England gained their first home victory against the West Indies

for more than 20 years?

'90s.

Michael Vaughan?

No, it was Graham Gooch.

Right. Ten points for this. In the United States,

the attempted annexation of the Dominican Republic,

the scandal known as the Whiskey Ring

and the first suppression of the Ku Klux Klan

were events during the presidency of which former military commander...

Liverpool, Davis.

Ulysses S Grant?

Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on Western Europe, Liverpool.

Which Western European country is closest in area

to Yemen, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Cameroon?

That is, a little more than twice the size of the UK.

Er, Spain?

Correct! Which Western European country

is closest in area to South Korea, Hungary, Jordan and Serbia?

That is a little larger than Scotland.

Portugal?

Correct. Which Western European country is closest in area

to Samoa, Mauritius and the Comoros?

That is around the size of Cheshire or Dorset.

Er, Luxembourg?

Correct, well done!

APPLAUSE

Right. Another starter question.

Once used as a synonym for the world "logic",

which term refers more specifically in Hegelian philosophy

to the synthesis of conflicting ideas through reasoned argument?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

Dialectic.

Correct.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on native British reptiles, Liverpool.

In each case, give the two-word common name

from the binomial and description. Firstly, Anguis fragilis,

a greyish-brown snake-like reptile with a shiny appearance.

Unlike snakes, it has eyelids,

and can drop its tail to escape from a predator.

I'd say slowworm.

Er, slowworm.

Correct. Secondly, Lacerta agilis,

a short, bulky lizard whose UK habitats

are restricted to heathlands and dunes

such as Hesketh golf links in Manchester?

Er, natterjack toad?

No, it's the sand lizard.

And finally, natrix natrix,

a non-venomous snake usually found near water.

Grey-green in colour, it has a distinctive yellow and black collar.

I only know venomous snakes.

Just think of...

Er, grass snake.

Correct! Ten points for this.

Babesiosis and Lyme Disease are among the zoonotic diseases

transmitted to humans by which arachnids, members...

Liverpool, Davis.

Er, ticks.

Ticks is correct, yes.

Right, these bonuses are on holograms, Liverpool.

Examples appearing on the cover of National Geographic magazine

and on credit cards, what term denotes holograms

made by a double holographic process

that can be viewed in white light?

-Any idea?

-Volumetric image?

Try that.

Er, volumetric image.

No. They're rainbow holograms, or Benton holograms.

Secondly, which Russian physicist gives his name

to reflection holograms created

using Lippmann's photographic process?

They can be viewed in colour

if more than one coherent light source is available.

Do you know any Russian physicists?

Er...

Vladimir Putin.

He's a very talented man, isn't he? No, it's Denisyuk holograms.

In holography, the size of the viewed image scales

with what property of the viewing light?

-Frequency?

-Wavelength?

Er, wavelength.

Correct. We're going to take a music round. For your music starter,

you'll hear a piece of classical music.

Ten points if you can name the composer and the specific piece.

CHORAL SINGING

Liverpool, Hiscock.

Beethoven, Ninth Symphony.

Correct, yes, the Ode To Joy.

APPLAUSE

Right. You will recall that that was used as incidental music

throughout the first Die Hard film.

For your bonuses, three more pieces of classical music

that have featured on the soundtrack in the Die Hard series.

I want the composer in each case. Firstly, the composer of this piece,

also used in the first Die Hard film.

MUSIC PLAYS

That's Mozart, isn't it?

Might be Mozart.

It's very nice, whatever it is.

Mozart?

No, that's Bach. It's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.

Secondly, this composer, please.

The piece was used in Die Hard With A Vengeance.

MUSIC PLAYS

THEY CONFER

Shostakovich?

No, that's Brahms's First Symphony.

And finally, the composer of this piece,

used in Die Hard 2.

MUSIC PLAYS

THEY CONFER

Er, nominate Davis.

Prokofiev?

No, it's Sibelius's Finlandia. Ten points for this.

In medicine, what adjective describes treatment

applied locally to the afflicted area?

Sheffield, Trueman.

-Topical.

-Correct.

APPLAUSE

Wouldn't want to be treated by you if you didn't recognise that!

Right. Bonuses this time are on colours used in HTML web pages.

Firstly, which shade of brown in HTML

shares its name with a South American country

where Paul Gauguin spent his early years?

-Do you know?

-No idea.

Brazil?

No, it's Peru.

The name of which shade of pale grey in HTML

is an abbreviated version of the surname

of an English painter born in 1727?

Painter?

Constable?

No, it's Gainsborough.

Which shade of brown in HTML

comes from the name of a Tuscan city associated with the artist Duccio?

Sienna? Sienna.

Sienna?

Correct! Right, ten points for this starter question.

In Spanish often added to the names of political figures,

what four-letter suffix

generally has derogatory force in English,

having been appended to words such as fashion, Blair,

and the newspaper The Guardian?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

Ista.

Ista is right, yes, I-S-T-A.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on philosophy, Liverpool.

An object whose constituent parts have been gradually replaced

so that it is no longer materially the same as the original

represents a paradox often known as

the ship of which legendary king of Athens?

Timon?

No, it's Theseus.

Secondly, for five points,

the Ship of Theseus is also known as the sock

of which philosopher of the English Enlightenment,

noted for his contributions to epistemology and political thought?

Locke.

-Locke. Because sock.

-Oh, yeah!

Er, Locke.

That's correct, it was John Locke.

In recent years, the same paradox has become known

by what two-word term after the cleaning implement

of a character in the comedy series Only Fools And Horses?

It's Trigger's...broom, isn't it?

Trigger's broom?

Correct! right, we're going to take another picture round now.

For your picture starter you're going to see a photograph

showing an actor in the role of a musician.

Ten points if you can name both the actor and the musician.

Sheffield, Aspray.

Johnny Cash, Joachim Phoenix.

Correct, yes. Joachim Phoenix

was the man who played Johnny Cash, of course.

After Joachim Phoenix as Johnny Cash,

that was in the 2005 film Walk The Line,

picture bonuses - three more actors playing musicians in films.

Again, in each case, I want you to identify both the actor

and the musician. Firstly for five...

Someone playing Mick Jagger.

Do you know who the actor is?

Er, Mick Jagger and...

No, it's not, it's Jim Morrison being played by Val Kilmer.

Secondly...

Elvis Costello?

I don't know who the... Or is it Buddy Holly?

Played by someone?

-Just go.

-I don't know who the actor is.

-Go...Buddy Holly...

-Come on!

Nominate Aspray.

Er, Buddy Holly...

No, it's John Lennon being played by Aaron Johnson.

And finally...

I think it's Edith Piaf.

I don't know who the actress is.

Anyone recognise the actress?

Don't know.

-Not sure.

-It was Edith Piaf,

and she was being played by Marion Cotillard.

So...you didn't get any of those. Right, ten points for this.

Which river of southeast Asia serves as a large part of the border

between Thailand and Laos and forms a delta in southern Vietnam,

where it empties into the South China Sea?

Sheffield, Greenwood.

Mekong.

Correct!

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on oceanography, Sheffield.

Extensive, permanent ocean currents

characterised by their circular surface rotation

are known by what short name,

from the Greek for "circle" or "ring"?

-Rotunda?

-I think that's Latin.

Is it going to be, like, whirlpools or something?

Let's have it, please.

Rotunda.

No, they're gyres.

Which state gives its name to the current of the North Pacific gyre

that flows southwards from British Columbia

down the western coast of North America?

California.

Correct. Born in 1769, which German scientist

gives his name to the current that cools

the west coast of South America as far as the Equator?

-Kepler?

-No, it's Humboldt.

Ten points for this starter question.

What five words begin the 23rd Psalm?

A metrical version is often sung to the tune Crimond

and portrays the deity in a pastoral role.

Sheffield, Aspray.

The Lord is my shepherd.

Correct.

APPLAUSE

Your bonuses, Sheffield, are on the languages of Afghanistan.

One of the country's two official languages,

what word of four letters denotes the variety of Persian or Farsi

used in Afghanistan?

Kurd?

No, it's Dari.

Widely spoken in northwest Pakistan, which eastern Iranian language

is the second official language of Afghanistan?

Nominate Greenwood.

-Pashto.

-Pashto is correct.

And finally, the official language of a neighbouring country,

which Turkic language is the mother tongue

of an estimated 9% of Afghans?

Kurdish?

Kurdish?

No, it's Uzbek.

Ten points for this. What given name links the authors of

The City Of Stars, The World As Will And Representation,

The Second Mrs Tanquerey and Death Of A Salesman?

Liverpool, Hiscock.

Er, Martin?

-No.

-Sheffield, Greenwood.

Arthur.

Arthur is correct, yes.

APPLAUSE

These bonuses are on distance scales in the solar system.

One megametre is approximately the diameter of which celestial body,

due to be visited by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in 2015?

-Celestial body?

-Mars?

No, they've already sent the Mars Rover.

Nominate Aspray.

Eagle Nebula?

No, it's Ceres. You'd better hurry up, cos we're in the dying minutes.

Earth is approximately eight light-minutes from the sun.

What is one light-minute measured in gigametres,

to the nearest whole number?

Four.

No, it's 18.

If you were in the plane of the ecliptic

at a distance of one terametre from the sun,

you would be between the orbits of which two planets?

Saturn and Jupiter?

Correct! Less than three minutes to go,

and another starter question. Answer promptly.

Which fundamental force of nature

is not included within the standard model of particle physics?

Sheffield, Trueman.

Gravity.

Correct. You get a set of bonuses this time

on Time Magazine's Person Of The Year.

In 1935, the year his country was invaded by Italy,

which head of state became the third non-American

and the first African to be named Time Magazine's Person of the Year?

Haile Selassie.

Correct. Which Asian head of state and his wife were Couple Of The Year

for 1937, the year their country was invaded by Japan?

Er...China?

Yes, but I wanted the name - it was Chiang Kai-Shek.

Named Person Of The Year for 1951,

Mohammed Mosaddegh was later overthrown by a coup

backed by MI6 and the CIA.

Of which country was he prime minister?

Iran.

It was Iran, yes.

Ten points for this. For what do the initials stand

in the acronym SETI - that's S-E-T...

Liverpool, Davis.

Er, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Correct.

APPLAUSE

Right, these bonuses, Liverpool, are on the actor Albert Finney.

Finney played the title role in which 1963 film

based on a novel by Henry Fielding?

-Let's have it, come on.

-Er, I...

Pass.

It's Tom Jones. Based on a novel by Malcolm Lowry,

in which 1984 film did Finney play

the alcoholic consul Geoffrey Firmin?

Under The Volcano.

Under The Volcano?

Correct. Which historical figure did Finney play

in the 2002 film The Gathering Storm?

Chamberlain?

Chamberlain.

No, it was Winston Churchill. Ten points for this.

Words meaning "elephant" in Chinese,

"fool" in French and "runner" in German

all denote which chess piece?

Liverpool, Crew.

-Knight.

-Sheffield?

One of you buzz?

Sheffield, Aspray.

Pawn?

No, it's the bishop. Ten points for this.

Listen carefully. The binomial of an organism

consists of two parts.

The second part states the species.

What does the first part state?

Sheffield, Cunliffe.

Genus.

Correct. You get a set of bonuses this time on human memory.

Also called a memory trace, what six-letter term

denotes a hypothetical alteration of neural tissue for memory storage?

Pass.

It's engram.

GONG

And at the gong, Sheffield University have 130,

Liverpool University have 155.

Well, Sheffield, if only you had got off a little more quickly,

who knows, you might have won that!

But you know, you may come back as a high-scoring loser,

we'll have to wait and see.

But thank you very much for playing.

And, er, congratulations, Liverpool.

155 is not the highest winning score we've had in this contest so far,

but it's a good enough one to get you through to the next round.

Congratulations to you.

I hope you can join us next time for another first-round match,

-but until then it's goodbye from Sheffield University...

-Goodbye.

-It's goodbye from Liverpool University...

-Goodbye.

And it's goodbye from me. Goodbye.

APPLAUSE